Strength is Absolute
by ImmortalMerc
Summary: We all know that Jiren's backstory left him traumatized but we don't know the details because he cut Belmond off. Find out what was going on in Jiren's life during those lost years as he begins his journey on the path to something that lies beyond strength.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to Universe 11, home to the Pride Troopers, the heroes of justice! They have protected numerous planets from very dangerous villains and natural disasters. Everyone knew them and a lot of the youth wanted to be them. There was Toppo, the leader of the Pride Troopers, with his massive arms and thick mustache. Dyspo the speedster, who was the vanguard commander. Then there was the member who was most mysterious to civilians; he would appear and take care of the threat almost before most people could react. In fact, he was rarely seen at all outside of disasters and attacks. He never showed up when the Pride Troopers were being awarded medals of valor, he never showed up during the talk show guest appearances and heck he never showed up for the autograph signings. One thing was clear though, if you were in danger and things were looking bad, he would be there.

His name was Jiren, a somewhat tall, grey-skinned alien with large but lifeless black eyes and a straight face. His large muscles filled out his red and black suit so well that some argued it may actually be his skin. Fans of the costumed heroes speculated about him on online forums. Not much was known about him outside of the fact that he was a Pride Trooper. But what if people knew that wasn't the whole story? The backstory of Jiren was a tragic one but most people don't' know that; not even the leader of the eccentric team of super heroes knew his teammates origin; it was something that the grey alien kept close to is chest so that no one could use it against him. It was his greatest secret and his biggest regret.

* * *

Years ago, on Planet Rozwell, there was a small sleepy village in a mountainous area on the outskirts of a desert. The inhabitants were called Rozwellians but they had many variants of their race. They were a hardworking people who just made ends meet with their agriculture. But while the adult villagers were hard at work, a small child ran through the fields with vigor that only the youth have access to. The small child was wearing a beat-up poncho that also served as his clothes but he wore it with pride because his family made it for him. The small grey boy nearly collided with one of the field workers but managed to dive between their legs at the last second; he took off giggling in the other direction. One of the other villagers, a slender woman, called out, "Jiren! Come back and apologize right now!"

The worker rubbed the sweat from his forehead, "Don't sweat it, Roha, he's just a kid. Let him have fun, I think most of us feel younger with him around."

Roha sighed and resumed pulling out vegetables, "I just wish he'd dial it down a little bit but on the bright side he'll sleep like a rock after dinner. He definitely gets that energy from his father."

The worker laugh, "Then we'll be in good hands, Maiku is one of the strongest people we have in the village, imagine what Jiren will be like when he grows up."

Roha smiled at the thought of her son growing up to be big and strong like her husband. As if on cue, Maiku came around the corner carrying a large bucket of water that was twice his size. He set it down with ease and wiped the dirt on the pants of his brown tunic. He well-built but wasn't overly muscular but you could tell there was strength behind that body. Like Jiren and Roha, his eyes were bulbous and mostly black.

"I see that Jiren is causing chaos already, we could use him in the fields."

"Let's let him enjoy being a kid a little longer, next year he can start working the fields as well. The two of you together should double our harvests!" Roha laughed.

Maiku smirked and let out a chuckle as he started distributing the water into smaller buckets. He suddenly felt like someone was watching him; he looked up and saw that the other villagers were looking at the desert-side of the village. There was a figure approaching them, it was hard to get any defining features though because they were wearing a hooded cloak. Maybe it was because the heat waves were distorting this person's image or the fact that they were walking slowly but there was something off about this to Maiku. He walked closer in the direction of the hooded figure, "Hey! Who are you?"

* * *

Jiren was chasing a pink insect with fluttering wings along a rocky path towards the larger mountains. The pink, semi-translucent wings were a compliment to his planet's purple sky and a hard contrast to his dark eyes. Maybe that's why he wanted to chase it, it stood out compared to the dull, brown colors of most the environment. He knew that he probably shouldn't actually go into the mountains; very dangerous creatures live up there but he was pretty fast so he wasn't scared. The insect veered off to the left and entered a cave. Jiren ran in the cave excitedly, the only thing he could hear was the pitter-patter of his small footsteps.

As the light from the entrance began to fade, Jiren began to get a bit nervous. Suddenly the entire cavern lit up in pink light. It was the insect but there was more of them in here and they were all glowing with bio-luminescent light. The young boy's mouth was agape in amazement at the light coming off of the lazy fluttering of their wings. This was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen on his planet. An idea crept in his head, he needed to tell his parents about this. Jiren could just imagine his mom's reaction to this cave and the glowing insects. With one last look at the magnificent sight, he took off out of the cave.

* * *

Jiren was racing back towards his village in an excited pace. Just a little bit longer and he would be at the edge of his village and….and…

He stopped at the edge of the plateau that overlooked his village; he was greeted with smoke rising out of the acorn-like huts that his people lived in. Various craters littered the fields like pock marks and bodies were scattered everywhere. Panic set in as he scrambled down the plateau and ran towards his house. As he got closer, he saw shapes moving in the windows and his body started locking up from fear. Jiren's lip trembled as he slowly crept closer to the entrance, where the door had been blown inwards. His heart was beating so fast it felt like it might rip out of his chest. As he peaked around the corner with his mouth agape, his breath got hitched in his throat.

He saw a dark figure that was in the center of the kitchen; a dark purple glow was radiating off it like the insects in the cave but this felt twisted and wrong. His gaze fixated on the figure's hands and that moment was when his child innocence died. The glowing person was holding the crumpled and bruised bodies of both his parents. Jiren began to shake but his feet wouldn't obey his commands to run away. The dark being turned and eyed up the small alien with burning red eyes. It dropped his parents in a disgusted fashion, as if they were nothing but filthy garbage. Jiren didn't move as the being walked past him as he wasn't even there and disappeared into the mid-afternoon sky.

Screaming rang through the small house as Jiren violently shook his parents' bodies in a feeble attempt to wake them up. Their black eyes, which were now slightly glazed over, blankly stared back at him as he begged them to wake back up. In one afternoon, Jiren had lost his village and his parents because of that dark being. It left him with nothing.

* * *

Hi everyone. I'm trying my hand at a Jiren origins story based off the events of the manga with my own little twist to them. This is not a standalone chapter so don't worry, we will be seeing more of Jiren. Let me know what you think!

Oh and in-case people are wondering:

Planet Rozwell - Reference to Roswell and Area 51 are where the Grey Aliens (which Jiren is based off of) first became a popular idea with the alleged sightings (in America at least)

Jiren is based off of Renji in Japan which means oven so I made his parents' names based off of the Japanese name for Microwave (Maikuroha)


	2. Chapter 2

When Jiren opened his eyes, he saw that he was being carried by a large person. They were in the desert and the sun was getting low. The rhythmic bouncing of the person carrying him almost put him back to sleep.

"Ah, it looks like you're awake now," a deep voice shook Jiren out of his sleepiness.

The figure, now obviously a man, chuckled, "Do not worry, small one, I will not hurt you."

That put Jiren at ease a little bit, he felt safe against this large man's back. Suddenly an image of death appeared in his head. His parents' mangled bodies and his burning village were all he could see before his vision quickly flashed back to the desert.

"W-what happened to my village?"

There was a brief silence before the man spoke up again, "I happened to be training in the area when I saw the smoke. By the time I got there, I was too late but I heard you whimpering in one of the huts. As far as I know, you were the only survivor."

Jiren clutched at his chest as he began to hyperventilate again. Everything in his life had been wiped out in under an hour. If only he had been stronger. The man felt the smallest bit of energy start to emit from the child. An idea popped in his head, "I was going to take you to my village so that the elders could look after you. But how about I train you with my other students?"

"…Would I get stronger?"

"Yes, you would get much stronger from training your body and also your mind."

"Then please train me, sir!"

The man laughed again, "Welcome to the team then. What is your name, boy?"

"…Jiren."

"Well, hello Jiren, my name is Gicchin."

* * *

They arrived at the village after dark. It looked similar to Jiren's village but it seemed larger and the huts were cubes instead of acorn-shaped. Gicchin set Jiren down so he was finally able to get a good look at the man. He was tall and well-built, sort of like his father but there was a sense of power behind him that his father never had. Gicchin also had dark green skin, silver hair, a matching beard and orange eyes. Jiren felt safe just being in his presence.

Fushe pointed at a cube past the other side of the village on top of a hill; it had faint light shining from one of the windows.

"That is my house, you're going to run there as fast as you can. Think of it as the first step to your training."

Jiren pumped his fists in the air, "No problem! I was one of the fastest people in my village!"

Gicchin laughed and took off in the air, "I'll hold you to that!"

Jiren stared at the now flying man as his shape got smaller and smaller the closer he got to his home. He started running towards the hill as fast as he could. The villagers are stared at the small child sprinting down the street; he had a fiery determination in his eyes that made them want to start running with him. Jiren ignored them though, his only goal was that house on the hill. If he could make it there, then he could get stronger; he never wanted to be as vulnerable as he was on the day that he lost his family. His muscles were screaming at him but he ignored it as the house got closer and closer. A few minutes later, Jiren dragged himself to the door; his breathing was ragged and sweat was pouring off his face. He was about to reach for the door when it flew open and a body slammed into him.

"I told you to keep your hands off my food, Shokki!"

"Ow! Jeez Blenda could you have hit me any harder?"

Jiren blinked as his eyes readjusted and saw that another one of his species was on top of him. They had the same skin color but the difference was that this person's eyes were white and he had pointed ears. They seemed to be close in age together.

"Hey, how's it going?"

Jiren slid himself from under the boy and look towards the door. The figure in the door was a girl who was about the same age as him who had red skin and yellow eyes that overtook her whole pupil.

"I'm so sorry! I wouldn't have punched Shokki if I had known you were there!"

Jiren rubbed the back of his head, "It's uhh ok."

Gicchin walked past her and pulled Shokki up.

"Alright, settle down. This is Jiren, he will be training with us now. By the way, congratulations on making it to the house so quickly. It took Blenda and Shokki twice the time to get here."

Shokki and Blenda faced Jiren and bowed; Jiren bowed back. Gicchin then took him inside the house and showed him where he'd be sleeping. The house itself was bigger than Jiren's old acorn-shaped home but it was by no means lavish. Jiren was given a blanket, a pillow and a rucksack, "You can open it when you wake up, training starts at sunrise."

Shokki and Blenda ran into the room and laid down in opposite corners of the room leaving the center for Jiren. It didn't take long for Jiren to fall asleep, his body was completely exhausted from running here. Very soon after, Shokki and Blenda were also asleep; their soft breathing was the only noise you could hear in the room.

* * *

Fire plagued Jiren's dreams; the memories of his burning village were still very fresh in his head. He found himself walking between the huts, the bodies of his neighbors were scattered everywhere. Echoes of screams rang throughout the village as he hurried along to get to his house.

"Mother? Father? Where are you?"

"Jiren! Come save us!" It was a mix of his parents' voices and it sounded distorted.

He ran towards the voices as quickly as he could manage as the voices got louder and more distorted. The fires around him seemed to get bigger as well.

'This time would be different! I will save them!' Jiren thought as he raced towards his hut. When he got there though, he froze in terror. His parents' bodies were already bloodied and, on the ground; behind them was a looming shadow. It had glowing red eyes and a twisted grin as it reached for Jiren. It was nearly upon him before he woke up with a yelp. He was drenched in cold sweat. Shokki and Blenda were still asleep, his outburst must not have woken them. He got up from his makeshift bed, took the rucksack and looked inside. There were a set of blue clothes like Gicchin's and a purple sash. While hesitant to take off the hoodie that his mother had given him, he did put the gi on. The fabric was heavier than the tunics of his village and a bit scratchy but it fit his form pretty well. Jiren looked out of the window and saw that the sky was still somewhat dark. He didn't get as much sleep as he thought he did.

After running out of the house, he saw a clearing with a bunch of rocks piled together in different piles. Jiren had never trained before; sure, he ran around but he was just having fun. He saw his dad, Maiku, do pushups for a long time every morning. He also saw his dad lift heavy rocks for the village. Jiren started doing pushups but tired out quickly. He then tried to lift some of the smaller rocks over his head in sets of ten. By the third set, he was dead tired and wanted to go back to sleep.

"You have the right idea, nice initiative, Jiren."

Jiren turned around and saw Gicchin looking at him with a warm smile, behind him were Shokki and Blenda who were still rubbing their eyes.

"I saw you sneak out here and start exercising so I figured we'd start a bit earlier today!", Gicchin pointed his thumbs at Blenda and Shokki, "These two have been with me for nearly six months so they have a bit of a head start."

Jiren wiped the sweat from his face, "Don't take it easy on me just because I'm new! I want to get as strong as you!"

Gicchin laughed, "That's the spirt but you have a long way to go."

* * *

The first thing he had them do was pushups. He told them that they had to harden their bodies before they could truly begin to tap into their potential. Jiren's arms shook like thin tree branches in the wind. Shokki and Blenda were almost mechanical in nature with the pushups. Gicchin was doing one handed pushups alongside of them. Once they did several sets of ten, they moved onto doing squats. Jiren did a lot better at these than Shokki and Blenda. Running around his old village every day did wonders for his leg strength. This also showed when Gicchin made them run around the nearby village 3 times; Jiren manage to lap them and beat them back at the training grounds. Gicchin raised an eyebrow in surprise, 'Jiren has more natural talent than I thought. Shokki and Blenda have been here for six months and he's already close to them in prowess.'

Shokki and Blenda were heaving and sweating like crazy as they trotted up the hill. Jiren was tired but it looked like he still had some energy to give. By now the sun was shining bright overhead; they had been training for two hours. Gicchin clapped his hands together, "Alright everyone, you all have impressed me today. As a treat, I will show you what this training is for."

He clenched his fist and flexed his muscles; small rocks began to rise from the ground. With a quick yell, a bright white light enveloped his body. The force from the light pushed all three of them back. Gicchin relaxed, "This is a small fraction of my power. The light you see is the physical representation of my inner energy called 'ki'."

The three kids stared in amazement, it was the coolest thing any of them had seen. The light reminded Jiren of the thing that killed his parents but the presence was gentle compared the terrifying pressure he felt from that creature. Jiren felt safe in the rays of Gicchin's aura and he wanted that power for himself. He clenched his fist, no matter how hard the training was, no matter how long it took, he would get as strong as his master. Then and only then would he feel satisfied because strength is absolute!

* * *

Hello. This chapter took forever to come out because I didn't know how I wanted to go. Plus writing two different fics at the same time while dealing with life stuff is something let me tell ya. I originally had a different name for Jiren's master but then we got his official name in the manga 2-3 months ago so I changed it. The name was going to be Fuche (a play on the word for chef in Japanese = Chefu).


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